1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to vacuum cleaners, and, more specifically, to vacuum cleaner bumper systems for preventing damage to walls, woodwork, and furniture.
2. Related Art
Two goals of vacuum cleaner design have been to provide a vacuum cleaner head that can be moved close to a wall or other obstacle to clean close to the carpet or floor edge but also a vacuum cleaner head that minimizes damage to walls, woodwork, and furniture. Traditional vacuum cleaners, both of canister and upright styles, steam cleaners, waxers, and shampooers often tend to gouge, scrape, or chip the surfaces against which they are pushed. The damage typically occurs because of a combination of the weight of the vacuum head, the hard materials typical of vacuum heads, or the enthusiasm or haste of the user.
The woodwork around doors, corners, and stair steps is especially vulnerable to damage. The woodwork sticks out into the path of the vacuum head and the user is usually trying to wedge the vacuum head along a wall or into a small space to pick up dirt or lay down wax, for example. Even when rubber or plastic bumpers are attached to the perimeter edge of a vacuum head, woodwork surfaces are still frequently marked, marred, or chipped.
Several U.S. Patents disclose designs that attempt to alleviate this damage problem. Moorhead (U.S. Pat. No. 927,668) discloses horizontally disposed rubber disks which extend beyond the periphery of a sweeper casing. Rosenbery (U.S. Pat. No. 1,923,689) discloses bumper wheels on both sides of a suction machine. Gambardella (U.S. Pat. No. 2,222,835) discloses a rubber bumper that moves on balls in a track on the outer wall of a floor scrubbing and polishing machine. Sakurai, et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,822 and 5,134,749) discloses a loop-shaped bumper that is angularly movable around a group of rollers in a "caterpillar" construction. The Sakurai, et al bumper extends in a semi-circle around the front of a vacuum cleaner canister. Sakurai, et al also discloses a swinging plate, or a set of two swinging plates, that extends across the width of the cleaner canister. Each swinging plate can pivot slightly to the side.
What is needed is an improved bumper system, for vacuum cleaners and other floor maintenance equipment, that effectively cushions and yet allows the cleaner head to reach close to a wall or obstacle. What is needed is a bumper system that is inexpensive and that can be installed on a wide variety of equipment.